History repeats itself
Every year, at our community reading of Frederick Douglass’ masterful speech “What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July,” certain passages jump out at me for their continued relevance. This year, it was the part about the Fugitive Slave Act. Passed on Sept. 18, 1850, the Act required all runaway enslaved people to be returned to their enslavers, even if they were captured in free states, and it compelled citizens to participate in their capture and rendition.
Douglass wrote: “Your lawmakers have commanded all good citizens to engage in this hellish sport.” He described how escaped slaves were hunted down and “without a moment’s warning, hurried away in chains…” Some of them, he said, “have had wives and children, dependent on them for bread; but of this, no account was made. The right of the hunter to have his prey stands superior to the right of marriage and to all rights in this republic, the rights of God included.”
This year, as I listened, I felt I was hearing about ICE hunting down undocumented immigrants under operations with obnoxious monikers like “Catch of the Day” and “Return to Sender.” I felt I was hearing about how local police departments are enticed to join in the “sport” against a promise of cash. I felt I was hearing about peaceable and hardworking mothers and fathers torn from their children, in 2026. I felt shame.